major_clanger | Review - Second Lives

Second Lives: A Journey through Virtual Worlds, Tim Guest

362pp, £12.99

Kindly loaned to me by

fjm, on the strict understanding I sent it back to her in time for her to use it for teaching next semester. Having read it, I'm not sure if she'll end up wishing I'd kept hold of it.

On the face of it, Second Lives is a very good introduction to virtual worlds, and more importantly to what real people get up to in them. Probably the most interesting story is the one Guest starts with, that of Wilde Cunningham, a gestalt of nine seriously disabled adults who, through a Second Life avatar controlled by a very dedicated care assistant, experience a freedom that clearly transforms their lives. Virtual Worlds also depicts the way in which real-world problems migrate online: harassment, scamming, and even - in worlds such as Second Life, where you can own virtual land - planning blight. Many of the problems Guest describes will bring a wry smile to the face of anyone who's been involved in what might be termed a geek-herding activity: "I can do what I want!" collides with "how dare anyone else make me unhappy in this wonderful place."

Unfortunately, one you go beyond reportage into analysis the books flaws become more apparent. The main frustration is Guest's complete lack of references, or even casual attributions of claims he reports. Early on, we're told that as of the time of writing some 25-30 million people worldwide regularly log on to virtual worlds. But we're not told where this figure comes from; for all I know, Guest pulled it out the air. In fact, I don't doubt that he presents this as an honest estimate, but it would be nice to know where it comes from, and if I'm going to cite his work I need to know where it comes from.

For me though, as I read through the book I became aware of a deeper dissatisfaction, and on reflection it wasn't hard to see where it was coming from. The author was beginning to annoy me. Like a superficially interesting new acquaintance at a party whose underlying tiresomeness soon emerges, Guest comes across more and more throughout the book as someone who less needs to get a Second Life than he does to sort out his first one. Many of his anecdotes aren't so much about his experiences in virtual worlds as his problems in the real one; he is disorganised, absent-minded, self-centred and accident prone, and as a picture of a jobbing writer calls to mind a male version of Daisy from Spaced. Many of his stories of life online, such as joining the virtual mafia, seem to peter out as he gets bored or distracted by the next shiny new environment. It's a pity, as many of the tales he tells are themselves very interesting, but after a while it feels as if he's not really sure whether he is writing about virtual worlds per se or an autobiographical travelogue set in them.

Overall, I was disappointed, although perhaps that's because I was hoping for something a bit more analytical that I could use as a source. If you're interested mainly in a snapshot of virtual worlds in the mid-Noughties though, and can put up with the narrator, then Second Lives is worth a look.